


Dreary, 'White' Hawaiian Christmas

by Calacious



Category: Hawaii Five-0 (2010)
Genre: Christmas Angst, Christmas Fluff, Homesickness, Kids, Kissing, M/M, Marriage Proposal, Plot Gone Awry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-26
Updated: 2019-12-26
Packaged: 2021-02-26 15:47:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,851
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21970645
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Calacious/pseuds/Calacious
Summary: Danny misses home, and finds his home in Steve. Steve has a little unsolicited help in making Danny feel that way.
Relationships: Steve McGarrett/Danny "Danno" Williams
Comments: 34
Kudos: 200





	Dreary, 'White' Hawaiian Christmas

**Author's Note:**

> This was inspired by the rainy Christmas day we had here on Oahu. The sky was 'white' and it did not stop raining until the evening. It was a good day to stay inside and watch Christmas movies, and write.
> 
> This is told from Steve's point of view.
> 
> Mele Kalikimaka!

"It's raining," Danny says it like it's a personal affront. He frowns as he looks out of the patio doors. "You can't even see the ocean, it's raining so hard."

Steve chuckles and wraps his arm around Danny's shoulders, kisses him on the head. "Thought you were longing for a white Christmas."

Danny rolls his eyes and gestures at the glass doors. "White as in snow, not white as in sheets of rain marring our view of our backyard paradise, and clouds masking the sun."

Steve hands Danny the cup of coffee he'd poured for the other man and smiles to himself when Danny scowls down at it and takes his first tentative sip. He knows Danny won't really be himself until he's got a full cup of coffee in his gullet and Grace and Charlie join them, which is not for another hour. 

"Stop being such a Scrooge," Steve says, moving out of the way of Danny's elbow. 

"I'm not a Scrooge," Danny says in a growl. 

"Grinch," Steve teases. 

"So, I'm a Grinch now?" Danny asks, gesturing once more to the downpour. "It's raining sharks and dolphins out there and I'm a Grinch because I'm pointing it out?"

"Sharks and dolphins?" Steve raises an eyebrow in question, and gets a narrowed look in return.

"Well, we aren't in Kansas, or some other decent place where there would be beautiful, white, fluffy snow. We're in Hawaii, paradise, home of sea creatures and rain on Christmas. Can you imagine if we were just visiting here for Christmas?" Danny asks. 

"No," Steve says, unsure of what Danny expects him to say.

"I just feel bad for the tourists," he says. "They came here expecting palm trees, sun and warm weather. What do they get instead? A deluge and rock slides. Did you know that the Pali is closed, again? And it's all thanks to this crummy weather."

"I had heard," Steve says, knowing that Danny's not really upset on the tourists' behalf, or the closure of the Pali highway, that there's something else bugging his partner. 

Instead of calling Danny out on it, and asking him what's really bothering him, he waits him out, knowing that Danny will tell him when he's good and ready to, not a second before. Asking outright will not give him any answers. Danny needs to vent first, then he'll talk, Steve just needs to bide his time, much like he'd do in an interrogation (not that he'll ever tell Danny that's what he's doing -- that would not end well).

Danny sighs, and moves away from the patio doors. Steve follows him to the kitchen where Danny refills his coffee cup and leans against the counter. Even like this -- unshaven, frown lines marring his mouth, blue eyes churning with emotion -- Danny is beautiful and Steve's breath hitches at the sight of the man, bare chested, nursing a cup of coffee, scowling at nothing in particular. 

"Stop smiling," Danny says, eyes dropping to Steve's mouth and then raising to meet Steve's gaze. 

Steve wisely holds in the laughter that bubbles to the surface and obediently lets his smile drop down into something more neutral. He's had plenty of practice in this technique, has used it during many an interrogation, not letting his emotions slip to the fore in hopes of getting a confession. This is no different. Danny's prickly in the mornings, and a rainy Christmas morning is turning him into a rather adorable, yet thorny Grinch (not that Steve will voice that comparison again, he knows better than to poke the bear, or in this case, the cross Christmas Scrooge).

"Smiling has been stopped," Steve says, not completely able to resist prodding his irascible love.

"Stop trying to be cute," Danny says, jabbing a finger in Steve's direction. "It's not going to lighten the mood, or make me forget that, instead of white, glistening snow waiting for me outside, there's the grey, gloom of winter rains and gusting winds."

"You think I'm cute?" Steve asks, trying to keep a smile off his face, and almost failing at it. 

Danny must notice the twitch of Steve's lips, because he narrows his eyes and lets out a growl of frustration. He runs a hand through his hair, mussing it in a way that Steve finds sexy in spite of Danny's rather sour mood (or maybe because of it...or maybe Steve's just horny; they'd gone to bed late and had fallen asleep almost as soon as their heads hit the pillows last night after leaving the Christmas Eve party they'd attended, there'd been no time to enjoy each other's company).

"Stop that," Danny says, pointing at Steve. "Fucking won't fix anything."

Steve blinks at Danny and frowns. "Who said anything about fucking?"

"You didn't have to say anything, it's all in your eyes. Your eyes are speaking for you," Danny says, gesturing. 

Raising an eyebrow, Steve asks, "And what exactly are my eyes saying?"

Danny's face goes red, and he sputters a little. He takes another sip of coffee before setting it on the counter and then he closes the space between them. 

"They're saying that you think I'm cute and..and..."

Steve takes advantage of Danny's close proximity and pulls him into a kiss that isn't returned immediately, but which gains considerable heat and aggression when it finally is returned. Something has been building up in Danny for days now, and it's being poured out into this kiss. Steve can't help but respond to the outpouring of emotion in kind. Danny's been holding back lately, and Steve gets the sense that the dam has finally been broken, the roaring waters rushing forth unstoppered. 

When they part for breath, Danny's forehead resting against Steve's, both of them breathing hard and supporting each other to remain standing, Steve searches Danny's eyes, hoping to gain insight into the man's extra foul mood. Usually Danny's happy on Christmas, and he can't (other than the weather) figure out what is different about this Christmas to warrant such a terrible mood.

"I'm sorry," Danny says in a whisper. 

Steve holds his breath, waiting for more because he knows that Danny's not done speaking, that the water's not done spilling from the dam. Whatever it is that has been bothering Danny for days now is about to come out, and Steve is ready for it.

"I'm sorry for being such an insufferable grouch," Danny says. "It's just, I'm a little homesick, and our last case, sending that kid back to his family who'd been looking for him for years, it just reminded me of Matty and how I'll never be able to send him home, and how I'm never able to visit home because it's too damn expensive, and it's raining, and it's Christmas and I just want my brother, my Ma, my Pa, and fuck it all, I want snow."

It's a lot, and it wasn't at all what Steve had been expecting his partner to say, but he should have expected it after their last case. He's surprised he didn't see it coming. He should have seen it coming after being with Danny for all of these years. He'd known Danny had been home sick, but not the extent of it.

"Knock it off," Danny says, poking Steve in the side. 

"What?" Steve rubs at his side.

"It's not your fault, so stop it," Danny says. "Stop blaming yourself for not seeing this coming. I'm a grown man who is responsible for his own emotions, mercurial as they may be, and I'm sorry for being so grumpy at Christmas."

"At least you're my grump for Christmas," Steve says, a hint of a smile pulling at his lips. 

"You're not supposed to agree with me, you ass," Danny says, smiling, his foul mood broken (at least for the time being). 

Before they can indulge in another kiss, the doorbell rings, and they pull apart. The kids had arrived, in good spirits, and are filing into the house before Danny and Steve can make it into the living room. Danny pulls on the Christmas sweater he'd left on the back of the couch the night before.

"Merry Christmas, Danno!" Charlie tackles his dad in a running hug, arms wrapping around his father's middle. "Did Santa come?"

"You bet he did." Danny's bright and jolly, not a touch of his earlier grouchiness in evidence, at least not that his kids can see. Steve, though, knows Danny well enough to see that his heart is still bearing the burden of his lost brother, and he's still longing for the comforts of home and a snowy, white Christmas, rather than a foggy, white Christmas that will leave churning waters and mosquitoes in its wake.

"See, what did I tell you?" Grace says when Charlie pulls away from his father to look at his sister. 

"We get double presents from Santa 'cause we have two homes," Charlie says. 

"That's right," Grace says. "We have two homes, and Santa splits our presents between both of them because he knows that our Danno and Uncle Steve want to watch us open presents from him just as much as our mother does."

"That's really smart of him," Charlie says. "Isn't it, Uncle Steve?"

"It is," Steve agrees, kneeling and getting a hug from the little boy who is so much like his father that Steve wonders how Rachel had ever thought she could keep Charlie's true paternity a secret from anyone. As he rises to stand beside Danny, one arm around the other man's shoulders, Steve lifts Charlie with his other arm.

Grace snaps a picture, without warning, giggling as she does so, and shoots it off to who knows who. There's an almost immediate ding in response, and Steve feels like he's got technology whiplash.

"Get over here, monkey," Danny says, pulling her in with the arm that isn't wrapped around Steve's waist. He presses a kiss to her cheek, and Grace holds her arm out to snap a couple of group selfies before pocketing her phone and embracing all three of them. 

"Present time!" Charlie says, wriggling out of Steve's arms and racing toward the tree. 

"Hold it," Danny calls after his son. "Wait for everyone. There's no rush. Santa's gifts won't disappear if we take a few minutes to pass out presents like civilized human beings."

"Can I be Santa's helper and pass out the presents?" Charlie asks. 

"You may," Danny says, making it sound like a privilege that could be just as quickly revoked as it had been granted.

Steve chuckles, and obediently sits when Danny points a finger at him and the couch. Grace sits on the floor, near the tree, and Danny takes a seat beside Steve. Charlie passes out the presents, making piles in front of each of them, and then settles on the floor, opposite Grace. 

Danny settles against Steve's side, a look of pure joy, not eclipsed by his earlier melancholy, on his lips as he watches Charlie and Grace take turns opening their presents and expressing their gratitude. Charlie is most pleased with the sheriff's costume (complete with handcuffs and a shiny badge) that Santa (with much input from Steve) had gifted him, and Grace is more than a little pleased by the plethora of gift cards that had been wrapped up in items of clothing she'd been hinting at wanting. 

"It's time for you to open your gifts, Danno," Charlie says, pointing to the pile that lies at Danny's feet. 

Steve has his own pile, but makes no move toward it. He and the kids are in together on Danny's gifts this year, and his own, other than the ones that Danny had gifted him with, are paired with what Steve and the kids had gotten for Danny. When Danny nods toward Steve, he shakes his head and picks up an envelope, handing it to Danny.

"Why don't you open this one first?" he says, keeping his voice as even as he can. Charlie's got his hands over his mouth, and Grace is biting her bottom lip in anticipation of her father's reaction. They all seem to be holding their breath and Danny gives them all a strange look.

"What?" he says, shaking the envelope.

A giggle slips from Charlie's mouth, and he sucks in a breath, eager for his father to open the envelope. "It's not a box, Danno," Charlie says. 

"No, but you're all looking at me as if I've suddenly grown a second head and a set of matching wings, so I'm a little worried that this is going to explode or something if I open it," Danny says. 

"So you shake it?" Steve asks. 

"It is from you," Danny says. "I feel like I'm taking my life in my own hands just holding it."

"Just open it, Danno," Grace says, rolling her eyes. "It won't bite, or explode, or make your skin turn green."

"Green?" Danny asks, holding the envelope up to the light and inspecting it.

"C'mon, Danno." Charlie's bouncing in place. "It won't blow up."

"Promise?" Danny asks, pursing his lips.

Charlie nods and scoots over to hold a pink out to his father. "Pinky promise."

"Hmm...if there's a pinky promise involved, then I suppose it's got to be alright," Danny says, grasping his son's pinky with his own and 'shaking'. His eyes are sparkling with mischief and Steve knows he's drawing out the suspense on purpose. 

"Would I put an explosive in an envelope?" Steve asks. 

"I would not put anything past you, Steven," Danny says. "But, because my son made a pinky promise, and there's nothing more sacred than a pinky promise, I will trust you just this once."

"Just this once?" Steve asks. 

He gets a warning look from Grace, and settles back against the couch to watch as Danny makes a show of carefully opening the envelope, like he's defusing a bomb. It makes Charlie laugh and clamber up on the couch to lean against Danny's other side. 

Everyone does hold their breath when Danny finally, painstakingly opens the envelope and pulls out the contents of it. And then it's Danny who's not breathing as much as he is blinking back tears and pulling Steve and Charlie and gesturing for Grace to join them so he can pull her into the same crushing hug that he's got Steve and Charlie enveloped in. 

"How?" Danny asks in a voice thick with emotion. "Why? When?"

"It's a gift from all of us," Steve says. 

"Really?" There are tears rolling down Danny's cheeks and he's kissing Steve full on the lips, and then Charlie and Grace on the cheek. 

"We leave the day after tomorrow," Steve says. "Grace and Charlie are coming with us. I cleared it with Rachel, and have everything set up with your folks."

"Thank you," Danny says, kissing them all again. "Thank you."

"I think we made him speechless, Uncle Steve," Charlie stage whispers. 

"Just like mom said we would, right Charlie?" Grace laughs. 

"Yeah," Charlie says in another whisper. "It's a Christmas miracle."

"Hey," Danny protests around a laugh. He tickles Charlie under the arm, making him laugh. 

"So, all of you?" Danny asks.

Steve nods. "I know that you've been a bit homesick, and I wanted to surprise you with something that you wouldn't expect."

"We all did," Grace said. "And, it's about time we went somewhere as a family. We haven't gone on any family trips since you and Uncle Steve became an official couple."

"An 'official' couple?" Danny asks, raising his eyebrows.

Grace and Charlie both roll their eyes. "It's obvious that you two loved each other before you started living together. You've loved each other for years now."

"Years," Charlie chimes in. 

"I see," Danny says. "And what do you think of all of this?"

"It's about time," Grace and Charlie say at the same time. 

"Are you two going to get married?" Charlie asks. "'Cause I want to be the ring bear when you do get married."

"Ring bearer," Grace corrects, putting a finger to her lips and shushing her brother. "Uncle Steve, I think you'd better give Danno the other present now; I don't think it can wait."

Tongue stuck to the roof of his mouth, palms sweaty, and throat uncomfortably dry, Steve's hands shake as they reach for the item Grace is hinting at. He'd planned to do this in Jersey on New Year's Eve, maybe while kneeling in a field of snow, not sitting on the couch in his living room with the eyes of three Williamses staring at him expectantly. 

Steve moves to kneel, but Danny presses him back in place. "No," he says. "We're too old for things like kneeling."

"My knees are just fine," Steve retorts. 

"Says the man who bruised his kneecap just the other day," Danny says. "While scrubbing the kitchen floor. There are such things as mops, you know."

"Are you going to shut up long enough for me to do this, or should I just bring this back to the jeweler?" Steve asks, pride smarting just a little. "And I did not bruise my kneecap."

Before Danny can answer, Grace plucks the velvet box from Steve's grip and opens it, revealing a simple diamond studded band of white gold. Charlie pulls the band out of the box, and holds it out between both men.

"Do you, Danno, take Uncle Steve to be your awfully webbed husband?" he asks, voice stark and serious.

To his credit, Danny does not laugh at the botched wedding vows, or make a comment about how fitting the 'awfully' and 'webbed' parts of the vows are for Steve. Instead, he watches Steve and swallows.

"I do."

"And do you, Uncle Steve, take my Danno for your --"

"Lawfully, not awfully," Grace inserts.

"Lawfully," Charlie says, nose scrunching in a way that is both adorable and reminiscent of Danny.

"Wedded, not webbed," Grace says. 

"Wedded husband," Charlie finishes. 

"I do," Steve says, voice soft. 

"Good. You are now husband and husband," Charlie says, placing the ring on Danny's finger, tongue sticking out of the corner of his mouth as he does so. "Let's eat some cake."

"C'mon, Charlie," Grace says, pulling her brother away from Steve and Danny and into the kitchen. She gives both of them a look that roots them to the spot. They are clearly not allowed to join her and Charlie in the kitchen. 

"But aren't Uncle Steve and Danno going to have cake, too?" Charlie's voice wafts into the living room, whatever Grace says to him in return is too quiet for either man to hear.

Danny clears his throat, but doesn't say anything. He's looking down at the ring that his son had placed on his finger, rolling it between his thumb and forefinger. "Is this really what you want?" he asks.

"Yeah," Steve says. "I was planning to ask you when we were in Jersey, on New Year's Eve."

"Huh," Danny says, eyes never leaving the ring. 

"It's okay if you don't want to," Steve says, heart in his throat. 

When Danny finally moves his eyes from the ring, Steve can see that they are shining. "Of course I want to, I'm just, well, I'm a little overwhelmed. Am I imagining it, or did my son just unofficially marry us?"

"You are not imagining it, we are unofficially married now, and you said yes, so you can't take it back," Steve says, teasing now that the threat of Danny declining his proposal has passed. 

"Unofficially married, but officially a couple," Danny says. "Ma's going to blow a gasket."

"I kind of told her my plans," Steve says, wincing at the look that Danny pins him with. 

"And I bet you asked my father for my hand in marriage, too," Danny says, exasperated.

"Kind of..."

"Kind of?" Danny asks. "How do you kind of tell my Ma your plans and kind of ask my Pop for my hand in marriage? You do know that I am not some blushing virgin, right?"

"Danny," Steve whispers. "Your kids are right there, in the kitchen."

"And?" Danny asks, completely oblivious as to what his words are doing to Steve. "We can't talk about you practicing antiquated traditions while our children overindulge in cake and ice cream?"

"Danny," Steve groans. "Yes, I told your mother what I was planning on doing, and I asked your father for his advice. He told me that I should just tell you at the altar and avoid all of the drama."

"Drama?" Danny asks. "He told you --"

Steve cuts Danny off mid-rant with a kiss that makes Danny clutch onto him with one fist. Neither man hears Grace and Charlie enter the room, the shutter of Grace's phone as she takes a picture, or their twin giggles as they leave the room to steal away into Steve and Danny's room to start packing for them. 

When they finally part to breathe, Danny tilts his head to the side, as though listening for something. Perhaps for Grace and Charlie who are still in Steve and Danny's room, tossing clothing out of their closet and dressers and giggling like mad as they choose which items of clothing to pack for the trip. He and Danny will definitely have to repack if he's hearing what he thinks he's hearing.

"Do you hear that?" Danny asks. 

Steve nods and winces when he hears the words, pink and orange, issue from Grace's mouth.

"It's stopped raining," Danny says, and then he's pulling Steve from the sofa and over to the lanai, throwing the glass door open. Steve squints into the still mostly grey sky, there's an touch of blue peeking through the clouds, and hanging over the ocean is the faintest whisper of a rainbow. 

"I love you," Danny says, kissing Steve and hugging him, as though Steve had something to do with the weather clearing. 

"I love you, too," Steve says, knowing that, if it had been in his power, he would have stopped the rain ages ago, and gifted Danny with blue skies and an uninhibited view of the ocean just to make the man smile.

"You're my home," Danny says the words so quietly Steve isn't certain he's heard them correctly. 

"You're my home, too," Steve says. "Always."

"Always." Danny agrees. 

In a way, they're already married, Charlie's botched vows aside. And, in the meager light of a gloomy Christmas Day, Steve knows that he wants to share the rest of his life with all of Danny -- a man who is capable of showing unfettered joy at the sight of a rainbow, and a man who is a quick-tempered, unshaven grouch first thing in the morning. 

Steve has another call to make before they leave for Jersey in two days. He's certain that Danny's mother will be on board with the plan, and that Danny's father will wonder why he didn't do it in the first place. Steve's determined that, when they return to Hawaii in three weeks it be as Mr. and Mr. McGarrett-Williams.


End file.
